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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
Still say keep Cats and do away with muffler and res. Y pipe and then straight back from there to a 3" tip. Sounds just awesome, no cab drone and awesome awesome sound. Many people compliment on the exhaust. I wish my F150 witht the 5.4L had the sound that my 5.0 had.....
I am lost why is there 2 smiths?
Jon did you just get another X or what? been awhile since I have been on the board.
Still say keep Cats and do away with muffler and res. Y pipe and then straight back from there to a 3" tip. Sounds just awesome, no cab drone and awesome awesome sound. Many people compliment on the exhaust. I wish my F150 witht the 5.4L had the sound that my 5.0 had.....
I am lost why is there 2 smiths?
Jon did you just get another X or what? been awhile since I have been on the board.
I believe you can as long as it is equal to or past the rearmost passenger compartment/window. I know they do it on some F150's but the passenger compartment is farther forward. Ask the local inspection station where you normally get your sticker done.
I have heard countless times my Explorer has the perfect setup for a 5.0L with power adders, stock down pipes with stock cats, no secondary cat. Dual inlet 2.5" muffler with single 3" out, into a 2.5" pipe dumping out behind the pass wheel
Robert with TM headers gave me high marks for this setup, its simple and retains good backpressure for the 5.0L Explorer computer.
My BII is pretty much the same but with a 3" pipe out the back
My understanding was that the 3" exhaust gave large pressure somewhere to go and equalize, but didn't let too much out.
Think of it kind of like a holding chamber: Under normal circumstances, you aren't using the full exhaust. Under high pressure, the 3" area acts as a buffer that allows more air to flow before the pressure really starts going up, but the 2.5" outlet restricts air flow just enough to have more back pressure then a pure 3" system.
You get a similar effect running more 3" pipe. You have less back pressure with an exhaust that's just dumped directly after the muffler then if you route the exhaust out the back. More pipe = slightly more backpressure. Also, more turns can result in more back pressure.
I'm sure the best setup on an explorer would be a 2 3/4" exhaust, haha.
A lot of two input mufflers with one outlet will have a larger outlet size. Mine is a 2 x 2.25" and 3" outlet muffler.
The smaller pipes restrict horsepower, but beyond a certain size not much is gained.
Engines do not need back pressure, that's a myth. Back pressure is a measure of restriction, more is less(power).
Engines do need help in pulling exhaust out, and that is the purpose of a header and collector, and "X" pipe. Those are the critical exhaust components, concentrate on those.
Example, if you have headers with a 2.25" collector outlet, anything under 2.25" pipe would be a restriction. A 2.5" pipe would help flow past the collector, and 3" pipes would be even less restrictive.
Look at you engine's headers, the size of the primary pipes and the collector. Those should dictate what size pipes you can or should run behind them. As your engine rpm goes up, the pipes need to be bigger. That's why most of these conversations end up with 2.5" or 3" single tailpipe recommendations. The stock engines don't need much bigger tailpipes, the restrictions are the cat pipes and mufflers(generally). Regards,
many cars have headers, (custom) that are like an 1 3/4inch so your saying thats what the exhaust should be?
i had a contour svt with 2" headers, and a 2.5 inch exhaust and i gained power (it had the 3L swap)
headers should never been wider than 2inch. and i think 3" inch is probably a bit big for a v8. my buddy has 2.5in on his 5.9 ram and i think its perfect.
See, I spoke in generalities which are correct. This post above is a perfect example of completely incorrect. Do not speak in absolutes, as you just did.
I did not say that when collectors "...are like an 1 3/4inch so your saying thats what the exhaust should be?..." That is a bad assumption of my words "should dictate."
The collector size should dictate the size of the pipes following them, it is a major factor(dictate). Do not install a 1.75" pipe after a 2" collector. Do not install a 2.5" pipe onto a 3" collector. If you have a 1.75" collector, then a 4" pipe after it would be dumb, etc.
Headers are sized based on the engine displacement and rpm. Don't make a statement that a header should be no bigger than 2"(or any number), nor is 3" a limit for any V8.
Stop making absolute assumptions about variable things like an exhaust, based on your limited knowledge.
My post above was a general guideline about a few minor exhaust issues. The subject of exhaust is huge, and I spoke about issues that are often misunderstood. Do not go to extremes with any exhaust, and don't assume that your experience/application applies to all others. Regards,
Here's my situation, money is REAL SHORT. I'm in the process of gutting the cats, can't afford to replace them. I have a plugged up system. If I have to replace the muffler and tailpipe, does anyone know which flo-pro is a direct replacement? Another question I was pondering, with a two in / two out muffler, has anyone tried bending two tailpipes together and exiting on the right, like the stock tailpipe, thus avoiding routing a pipe along the fuel tank?
My exhaust guy says there is no way to do duals out over the axle on the passenger side. He said there isn't any room for 3". I trust his word, he is very good. Others may have had it, but I'll bet there is clearance issues.
My exhaust guy says there is no way to do duals out over the axle on the passenger side. He said there isn't any room for 3". I trust his word, he is very good. Others may have had it, but I'll bet there is clearance issues.
I have a Mac 3" tailpipe-
My exhaust guys said the same thing. When I took the Mac in for them to install they showed me the compound bends which they couldn't make in their shop.
